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The Wall

My intention was to post this as my favorite plant of the week, and link it up to Lorees meme. I never quite got there.

Parthenocissus is not the most exciting or unusual plant , and for some it is probably thuggish. I planted mine in fall of 2012, in desparation to hide this wall: I loathe this wall. I hate this wall. Loathe loathe, hate hate. Featureless stucco walls are all too common in tract housing here in California. Cheaper than the siding that clads the front and the more visible south side , it is a huge expanse of nothingness that my next door neighbors are forced to look at when they are washing the dishes. Note the attractive satellite TV cable. On the lower right you can see the Parthenocissus , heading for domination. Go Parthenocissus, go !

Indeed it is M&G. I actually tried to grow Hydrangea petiolaris up this wall a few years ago, to no avail. I think this vine is slightly more delicate anyway so it's a better option..what Loree alluded to up above is something I thought about before I did this , but I decided my hatred of the wall overruled damaged stucco.

No stucco damage here after 14 years of it. It does leave little black dots of adhesive that last and last--3M should look into the formula. It will turn stunningly deliciously red for you soon--so pretty in autumn.

I cut at the base of the plant then pull all of mine off the wall every three years and let it grow all back, to avoid woodiness. The roots are a bit aggressive, but manageable.

The little sucker feet thingys are kind of cute--I can envision them staying behind if you pull the vine away. The bed it's planted in is completely surrounded by concrete and the only other resident is a bamboo, so they can duke it out and may the best man win.I'm glad to hear it can be pulled down every couple of years -I have fantasies of actually having this house painted some day.

Virginia creeper grows like the weed it is around here. Sometimes that kind of agressive is what you need. When plants start taking over my regular gardens I usually move them to either the driveway wall or the front curb garden and take a laissez faire approach.

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